Out of 4,674 worker fatalities in private industry in calendar year 2017, 971, or 20.7 percent, were in construction. One in five worker fatalities in 2017 were in construction. The leading causes of death (excluding highway collisions) in the construction industry were falls, followed by struck-by object, electrocution, and caught-in/between. Falls made up 381 out of 971 total fatalities in construction in which was 39.2 percent.
When employees are performing construction work six feet or more above a lower level, you need to provide them with some type of fall protection. There is an exception for working on scaffolding — the threshold height for fall protection is ten feet. OSHA regulates falls at 1926 Subpart M.